


Progress

by viceindustrious



Category: Body of Lies (2008)
Genre: Advent Challenge 2010, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-20
Updated: 2011-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:31:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceindustrious/pseuds/viceindustrious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed can cooperate when he has to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Progress

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day sixteen of the adventchallenge. Prompt: Old Friends.

His second Christmas in Amman and Ed's moving on up the line. Call it the counter terrorism congo, call it a goddamn tragedy – world of unrest, culture of fear, media buzzwords aplenty – Ed calls it a career opportunity. One year and he's already making a name for himself, the near east division might as well have a bow wrapped around it, another five years, another ten, Ed'll be the one calling the shots and there's no doubt in his mind about that.

For now though, he's still answering to the idiot with his name on the Big Door. And it doesn't matter that Ed gets the job done, it doesn't matter that Ed knows how these people think, some of the higher ups don't like his style. It's another word for jealousy, Ed's pretty sure, insecurity. That's the only thing they're smart about.

Someone gets their tailfeathers in a twist when they hear he's been blowing off his liaisons with Hani. Maybe, maybe he'll admit that's something they're right about too, Hani's useful in his way, but Ed hasn't spoken to him in person since he sent that. . . thing, present, whatever, twelve months ago and he wouldn't mind keeping it that way.

The thought of a face to face makes him antsy. He pushes it to the back of his mind and focuses on other things.

In the end though, it becomes clear that he would have got the promotion he was looking for a month ago if he'd played the game with a bit more co-operation in his deck.

Ed invites Hani to dinner this time. When Hani arrives, Ed wishes he had a camera to snap a photo for his scrapbook. The look on Salaam's face? Ed wonders why he was putting this off for so long.

"This is what you call food, is it?" Hani asks as he slides into the booth, sitting opposite Ed.

He's frowning at the burger in Ed's hand. His suit looks strange and costumey against the plastic red seats. He's sitting in the first McDonalds in Amman.

"Hani," Ed says, looks over his glasses, grinning wide. "It's what I call _progress._ "


End file.
